A Republic of China Air Force F-16 fighter jet flies alongside a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) H-6K bomber that reportedly flew over the Bashi Channel, south of Taiwan, and over the Miyako Strait, near Okinawa, in this photo released Friday by Taiwan's Defence Ministry. | AFP-JIJI

China sends fighter jets, including Su-35, near Taiwan in latest show of force

TAIPEI - China sent fighter jets and other military aircraft near Taiwan Friday in the latest of a series of drills which Beijing has said are aimed at the island’s “independence forces.”

Taiwan’s defense ministry said multiple H-6K bombers, reconnaissance planes and transport aircraft flew over the Bashi Channel, south of Taiwan, and over the Miyako Strait, near Okinawa, during a drill Friday morning.

It was the first time that Chinese Su-35 fighters were sent over the Bashi Channel, the ministry said, while J-11 fighters and early warning aircraft also took part.

The ministry assured the public in a statement that it was able to fully monitor Chinese naval and air drills and “take effective responsive measures to ensure defense security.”

China sees democratically governed Taiwan — which has never formally declared independence from the mainland — as a renegade part of its territory to be brought back into the fold, and has not ruled out reunification by force.

China’s defense ministry confirmed in a statement Friday that it was the first time Su-35s flew over the Bashi Channel, hailing it as a “new breakthrough, highlighting the new enhancements to the Air Force’s combat capability.”

Beijing has stepped up military patrols around Taiwan and used diplomatic pressure to isolate it internationally since President Tsai Ing-wen, of the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, took office in 2016.

Last month, China’s air force said the series of operations were meant to “strengthen its capacity to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly press conference that they were “directed against Taiwan independence forces and activities in the island.”

Taiwan has accused Beijing of “saber-rattling” and trying to stoke regional tensions with its recent spate of drills.

Taipei has announced that it will practice thwarting a Chinese “invasion” in annual live fire drills in June by simulating surprise coastal assaults.